ID Protection

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Protecting Your Identity

West Union Bank’s “Privacy Policies” dictate procedures used to protect customer information from unauthorized access. The Information Systems Policy is distributed to each employee and every employee is trained on the procedures within the policy. New employees are trained to protect customer information as a part of their job training.

Access to nonpublic information about you and other customers is restricted and limited to bank employees who need to know that information to provide products or services to you or “to follow the law”.

Before using any of West Union Bank’s online services, you develop a secret “password” only you know. This assures you, and only you, have access to your accounts.

What You Can Do To Help

Do not give out financial information such as checking and credit card numbers, or your Social Security number, unless you know the person or organization you’re dealing with, even someone claiming to be from the bank.

Report lost or stolen checks immediately. West Union Bank can block payment on the check numbers involved. Also, review new deliveries of checks to make sure none have been stolen in transit.

Shred any financial solicitations or other bank statements before disposing of them.

Put outgoing mail into a secure, official Postal Service collection box.

If regular bills fail to reach you, call the company to find out why.

If your bills include questionable items, don’t ignore them. Instead, investigate immediately to head off any possible fraud before it occurs.

Contact the major credit reporting agencies and request a copy of your credit report.

Together, West Union Bank and you, can head off identity theft before it happens.

From the FDIC

Identity theft continues to be one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States, and has ranked as one of the top consumer concerns for the past several years. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has produced a multimedia presentation to help consumers protect themselves from identity theft. The presentation provides information on steps consumers should take to secure their computer and protect themselves from identity theft, as well as actions consumers should take if they become a victim of identity theft.

How to avoid viruses

Do NOT open or view any attachment or file in email that you are not expecting.

Even if you know the person sending you a file, it does not mean that the file is safe. Newer email viruses can make it look as if your friends/colleagues are sending you the file. In short, whenever you receive a file by email, CHECK with the sender directly that the file is legitimate and if it is not, DELETE IT.

Following this rule will keep you safe from the vast majority of viruses going around the internet.

Do not run, download or forward any unsolicited executables, documents, spreadsheets, etc. Anything that runs on your PC should be virus checked and approved first.

Any email you weren't expecting should be treated with suspicion, even if it comes from someone you know. It is worth calling whoever sent it to you to check that they intended to send you the email.

NEVER open any files with a double file extension, (e.g. iamavirus.txt.vbs). Under normal circumstances you should never need to receive or use these.

Avoid downloading executables or documents from the internet. These are often used to spread computer viruses.

Although JPG, GIF and MP3 files are not normally infected with viruses, some viruses can be disguised as these file types, also some recent software problems with image viewers and/or mp3 players have allowed them to contain viruses. Some caution is recommended when opening these file types. Jokes, pictures, graphics, screensavers and movie files should be treated with the same amount of suspicion as other file types.

If in doubt, contact a reputable computer technician for advice, do not open the file or email.

If you think you have been infected with a virus contact a reputable computer technician immediately. Do not panic or interrupt other users.

Ensure that you follow the same procedures at home and elsewhere. Viruses can easily be spread from one location to another.

Bank Scams: Ignore emails from banks, unless you have explicitly asked the bank to communicate with you via e-mail.

Even if you have explicitly asked a bank to communicate with you via e-mail, be cautious if you choose to enter your account details such as your account number or pin into a website supplied via e-mail, as it may be forged.

I have a virus, what should I do?

When you receive a virus you should contact a reputable computer technician and have them help you fix the issue.

What about the virus hoaxes?

A Virus Hoax is a 'warning' sent to many people from a 'reliable' source such as a business or someone you know. Invariably it states that the virus will cause disaster and that you should pass the warnings around. If you receive such messages and wish to confirm their legitimacy you should contact a reputable computer technician.

Foiling the Fraudsters

When times get tough, scams and cons tend to increase. Some fraudsters even pose as charities. They may pretend to help hurricane victims, homeless people, hungry children, etc.

To help protect your clients from being victimized, share these tips from the Federal Trade Commission:

Donate to recognized charities you have given to before. Watch out for charities that have sprung up overnight. They may be well-meaning but lack the infrastructure to provide assistance. And be wary of charities with names that sound like familiar or nationally known organizations. Some phony charities use names that sound or look like those of respected, legitimate organizations.

Give directly to the charity, not the solicitors for the charity. That’s because solicitors take a portion of the proceeds to cover their costs, which leaves less for victim assistance.

Do not give out personal or financial information to anyone who solicits a contribution from you. This includes your Social Security number or credit card and bank account numbers. Scam artists use this information to commit fraud against you.

Check out charities before you donate. Contact the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance at www.give.org.

Don’t give or send cash.For security and tax record purposes, contribute by check or credit card. Write the official name of the charity on your check. You can contribute solely online through national charities like www.redcross.org/donate.

Ask for identification if you’re approached in person. Many states require paid fundraisers to identify themselves as such and to name the charity for which they’re soliciting.

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